Love is Strange
by yumi-maki
Summary: AU, late 1950's America. Bored out of his mind at a school dance, Shikamaru meets a girl who manages to liven things up for him. One-shot.


**Love is Strange**

**#69 Viscaria:"Will you dance with me?"**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the song "Love is Strange."**

**A/N: I really think it would help if you listen to "Love is Strange" by Mickey and Sylvia while reading this. It would really help.**

Shikamaru sat atop the bleachers, looking down at the crowded dance floor, an expression of supreme boredom on his face. His eyes flitted from one couple to another until he spotted Ino dancing in a corner with Kiba. At the sight of her shameless flirting, he rolled his eyes and looked away, focusing instead on the peeling walls of their gymnasium.

His gaze fell upon a girl that he had never seen before. Her expression was almost as bored as his, although he thought (but couldn't be sure at this distance) that he detected a hint of longing in her eyes. He looked her over slowly, raising an eyebrow at her clothing - instead of the loose blouses and long poodle skirts that the other girls were wearing, she had on a tight, purple turtleneck and a light blue miniskirt. He tilted his head - he had only ever seen college students wearing clothes like that. In addition, her hair was in an unusual updoo which contrasted sharply with the wavy curls that most of the girls had. _'Hn,' _he thought, _'she definitely doesn't go here.'_

He continued staring at her, wondering how in the world he hadn't noticed her before - in this crowd, she stood out like a sore thumb. She was frowning, teal eyes sharp and a little bit annoyed, and tapping her foot impatiently. 

Then, quite suddenly, she turned her head, looked upwards and their eyes met. Her eyes reflected her surprise a fraction of a second before her face did, then she smiled for the very first time, a haughty, mischievous smile and he felt a twinge of - _something_ as he saw it. Then, just as quickly, she looked away, turning her face back to the crowd and just like that, the feeling - whatever it was - was gone.

Shikamaru looked away, staring into the crowd once again but his mind was still on the peculiar girl. He thought about asking her to dance which was surprising since, well, he never danced. Dancing required movement and exertion and effort - none of which were really his thing. He only even came to these school dances 'cause his mother would blow her top if he didn't. 

She was always on his case, nagging him about going out more and asking him why he didn't have a girlfriend. He didn't understand why it mattered so much to her but he went to the dances anyway - if only to get her off his back. As for the girlfriend, well that certainly wasn't going to happen - girls were way too much trouble and required even more effort than dancing did. 

By now, some time had passed and he figured it was safe to look so he glanced at the spot where the girl had been standing but she was gone.

Before he could even react to this observation however, she appeared before him, "Looking for me?"

He opened his mouth to respond but seemed only able to gape as he took her in in all of her turtlenecked, mini-skirted glory. Boy, did those clothes do her justice! Seeing her so close, he realized that she was older than him - she almost looked old enough to be in college. So what was she doing here?

She didn't seem bothered by his gawking however (She was probably used to it) and continued, completely nonplussed, "Mind if I sit here?"

He closed his mouth to save himself further embarrassment and opted to shake his head instead. She sat and he waited until he'd gotten used to her presence before trusting himself to speak. He turned to her, forcing himself not to look down at her bare legs, intending to ask how she was enjoying herself but what came out was, "Do you wanna dance?"

She glanced at him and her face relaxed into a smile - a different one this time, gentle and reassuring. This smile, which managed to erase all of his nervousness, was quickly replaced by the previous one. However it had already affected him and he relaxed, returning to his usual indifferent demeanour. Subsequently, he forgot what he'd asked her so that when she said, "Sure" he had to rack his brain to figure out what she was talking about.

Shikamaru, though he often did all he could to avoid having to exert any unnecessary energy, always kept his word and since he had been the one to ask her to dance, he felt obligated to go along with it. Besides, it was that offer that had resulted in the appearance of the other smile and he figured that while dancing, he might be able to see it again.

They rose simultaneously and descended the bleachers, the girl at a brisk pace, Shikamaru at his usual, leisurely one, so that when he finally reached the level of the dance floor, she was giving him the impatient look that she'd had before. 

As Shikamaru looked out onto the dance floor, he noticed that all of the couples were now moving simultaneously and swaying from side to side. He frowned - he hadn't even realized that it was a slow song when he asked her to dance.

He glanced at her and felt relieved when she didn't appear to be making any attempts at moving - apparently she didn't want to dance to a slow song either. "Hey," he said, "you should know I'm not that great a dancer."

She turned to him and he suddenly became aware that he was just above her, height-wise. She shrugged, "Doesn't matter to me."

They stood there for a little while as slow after slow played - "Earth Angel", "I Only Have Eyes For You", "Beyond the Sea". Finally a high pitched, fast tune started up and she immediately grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the dance floor, swinging him into motion before he even realized what was happening. They started to move to the beat of the song, "Love Is Strange."

Relief filled him as she took charge - at least now he wouldn't have to worry about making a fool of himself in front of everyone (not that he really cared about that). They had been dancing comfortably in silence all along when halfway through the song, as the talking part started, she began to sing along. 

_Sylvia!_

"Yes Mickey," she said, meeting his eyes.

_How do you call your lover boy?_

"Come here lover boy," she sang, pulling him closer. He raised an eyebrow.

_And if he doesn't answer?_

"Oh lover boy," she sang, smiling that mischievous smile at him again. Shikamaru was beginning to get nervous again - that smile definitely boded trouble.

_And if he still doesn't answer?_

She let go of his hands then and danced closer to him, nudging him occasionally as she sang, "I simply say - baby, oh baby, my sweet baby, you're the one!" She burst out laughing as she caught sight of the shocked expression on his face and was unable to continue singing, she was laughing so hard.

Shikamaru watched her curiously, still moving subconsciously, confused (and a little bit intrigued) by her peculiar behaviour. Mentally sighing, one thought filled his mind, _'This is why girls are trouble.'_

They danced together until the last notes of the song faded away and another popular song, "Rock Around the Clock" began.

To his surprise, she slowed down, "Do you want to stop now? It's okay if you do," she added, obviously expecting him to say yes.

He didn't know if it was her assumption or the fact that he was actually interested in this capricious, older girl that made him do it but instead of acting out his original reaction which was to stop and return to the stands, he grabbed her hands and spun her around, shouting "No" over the music.

Neither of them danced with anyone else for the rest of the night. 

It was the beginning of a very interesting relationship.

**A/N: On the way home, I heard an old song and came up with this. I think it could be better. The 50's and 60's are two eras that I'm rather fond of so it was fun writing this.**


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